PMI0002A SOVIET 203 MM HOWITZER M1931 (B-4)

The B-4 (other designation: howitzer model 1931) is a Soviet 203 mm heavy towed howitzer from the interwar period and World War II. The initial velocity of the demolition shell from this gun was up to 607 m / s, with a maximum range of about 18,000 meters. The theoretical maximum rate of fire was up to 1 shot per minute. Serial production was carried out in the years 1932-1940 and led to the creation of about 870 pieces of this weapon. The B-4 howitzer was planted on a tracked chassis, which on the one hand made it easier to operate in the field, and on the other hand - significantly reduced the towing speed. Howitzers of this type were used on a fairly large scale by the Red Army during World War II. In its course, it was directly subordinated to the orders of the highest command of the Soviet armed forces (the so-called Stawka), which assigned them to individual Fronts. B-4 howitzers took part, inter alia, in the course of the Berlin operation in 1945. It is worth adding that the German army captured a fairly large number of these guns during Operation Barbarossa (summer 1941) and successfully used them in their own arsenal. The B-4 remained in the Soviet Army until the turn of the 1970s and 1980s!